The underworld, it was shockingly just like Earth. Well, if Earth was submerged in anarchy. Somehow order was still maintained to a surprising about. It wasn't like people were just walking around shooting one another. Maybe it's because death isn't permanent down here. It's only punished, but never a definite end.

Kuza watched out the train window, seeing the grey desert outside. Areas that weren't populated were rather grim. Then again, anywhere in this end of Hell was pretty dark. Where Ash and the boys went was the cleaner, less evil area. When the day came that they could finally go there, they'd be relieved. For now, they're stuck searching, mindlessly wandering.

Chris had fallen asleep with his head on Kuza's shoulder. He didn't think much of it. Considering how they lived during their journey to the gate, this wasn't abnormal. To a heart eyed homeless romantic like Deysa, it was the cutest thing ever. He sat across from them on their seat of the train with his legs pulled up next to him.

"What are you staring at?" Kuza seethed quietly.

"He just loves you so much. It's so sweet." He cooed. Looking at him, he was one of the last people you'd expect to act this way. Pirates aren't really known for loving love.

"I guess." He muttered, "Tell me, why were you acting so strange when we were talking about Devin last night?"

His youthful smile turned to that of a frown. Deysa sighed, "Two reasons. Part of me was always hoping she wouldn't make it so I'd never have to face her again. I know that's terrible, and selfish, but... I still love her, and that makes me terrified of her. Especially now that she has a mate, how am I supposed to just stop loving someone that I can't ever have? I- I couldn't have her before, yet I was still dumb enough to fall in love with her."

"There's different kinds of love, you know. I think you've always just been confused about what type of love you feel for her. I don't know if you'll ever find a mate yourself, so I can't expect you to ever understand this, but once you do finally find someone you're compatible with, you'll realize what true romantic love is." Kuza explained, taking a glance at his boyfriend. He thought back to how vulnerable their encounters made him feel, continuing on, "It's a connection that is so strong, it almost hurts. Devin does still love you, she always will, but not in the way she loves Vinny."

"You've changed a lot, Mike. You've grown up a lot. Not that you were immature before, but you were cold, and you didn't ever care to have these conversations."

"I've learned what truly matters. That's all. Only took the entire world coming to an end, losing everyone but Devin, and coming an inch close to death for me to realize it." He joked.

"Death, it isn't as scary as you think it's going to be. It's a lot sadder than scary. When you first cross over, all you want to do is cry. You're all alone, thrown into a world you know nothing about, and you have no idea if a single person you know even made it. I got lucky that I found a few people from The Oath pretty early on.

The other thing I mentioned, why I'm scared to see Devin, I think I know what happened to her brother. I never got a chance to find out if I was right, but you know my gut feelings..."

"They're never wrong." Kuza replied.

"Yeah," He sighed again, "I told you how Laced Ones are like urban legends. Well, one of the most well know ones is one called the Eclipse. They're easily one of the hardest to find, but I saw them once, when I first came here. I think it may have been Elliot and Casper's combine souls. I never saw their eyes, you rarely ever do with Laced Ones, but their hair was black and blue. That light blue, that I've only ever seen Casper have."

"So? It's not like being laced changes them. That's still her brother."

Deysa shook his head, "You didn't let me finish. The Eclipse is well known down here for being an agent of Demon's Card. If it is them, that means they joined up with our enemy. I don't know why they'd ever do that, but I know it could only lead to something very bad for Devin. If she goes after them, she could end up in a bad situation. She could end up like you did-"

"Stop it!" He snapped, in the process waking Chris up. Kuza took a deep breath and kissed the top of his head. "I'm sorry. Just go back to sleep."

"As long as you two promise to play nice." Chris murmured.

"We're fine. I'm sorry." He repeated himself. "It'd probably be more comfortable to lay in my lap, if you want to."

Chris decided he was most likely right. The night before, he hadn't slept too well, worried about his mate. It didn't bother him to have Kuza's past interfering in his life. That'd be pretty shitty of him to complain about taking on his mate's life, when Kuza was more than patient with helping him heal over his old burdens. No, that wasn't what worried him. It was thoughts of what it could do to Kuza to have all this dug back up.

Kuza waited a minute for him to fall back asleep. He watched out the window as he gently ran his hands through Chris' hair every now and then. With a much softer voice, he spoke, "If it is Elliot and Casper, my best assumption is they only did it out of survival, or they were blackmailed into it. I doubt they went skipping into Demon's Card's arms. You don't need to worry about Devin. Vinny is a very talented fighter and he can protect her."

"I hope you're right... I'm sorry, I just can't help myself from worrying. After six years, I do desperately want to see her, but I'm also utterly terrified of facing her." Deysa stated.

After all that, Kuza figured it was best to change the subject. He looked to the silver crow shaped pin on Deysa's jacket. It had caught his eye before, mostly because that's where his guild mark used to be. He figured there was no better time to ask than now. "You don't wear the Oath mark anymore." He said.

Deysa placed his hand over the area, which happened to be right where his heart was. "I figured you were going to ask about this eventually. Most our old rivals, like Demon's Card and Hera, they kept operating after death. All our old friends, myself included, saw things a little differently. We saw a fresh start, a chance to do something good after all the bad we'd cultivated in the world.

So, we disband The Oath and we joined a ground called The Silent Crow. They aren't really a form of law or anything, but they work to protect the innocent from people like... Well, like the people we used to be. Most of them travel in groups, but I find I do better on my own. I specialize in freeing hostages and captives. That type of work, you're better off a one man team."

"I don't know what Chris and I will do when we find the others, but I wouldn't mind doing something selfless like that. Do they operate similar to how we used to?" He asked.

"Yeah, more or less. There isn't one leader in particular. Instead, they have leaders for different groups. Dex is one of the generals, but he's the hardest to find. Most of them have to completely disappear because they have big targets on their back. My supervisor, he's the one that gave me the info on where the Wiccan was last spotted. He's a little fucking nuts, but he's pretty damn smart, and he's got a good heart."

Kuza raised his eyebrow, "Are they all out of their minds?"

Deysa pursed his lips. "Nope. The rest are actually pretty normal. It just happened to be my luck that I got the one that's not right in the head. I'm not sure what made him that way, but I have a few guesses. He wears a wedding ring, but I've never seen his wife. I'm guessing that's got something to do with why he's apart of Silent Crow, and why he's a madman."

"Something I learned in the rapture, it's those that are the least fortunate and the most broken in life that are willing to help others. People who have never felt loss, never felt the weight of the world on their shoulders, they're the ones that are selfish assholes." He got a bittersweet smile as he thought back, "Believe it or not, Chris and I fucking hated each other when we first met. Given time, though, he broke down my walls and we realized we had been through similar heartbreaks."

"Anyone that's capable of breaking you down deserves an award." He laughed. Deysa glanced out the window as he noticed the landscape beginning to change. "I'm so happy you found someone that you're willing to let in and love. Back in the day, you used to go out on your own so much because you thought you were better off that way. I hope now you've realized you were wrong."

"I think there's still some situations where I'm better off alone. Having my demons come back like this, I do wish I could protect him from it all. He doesn't deserve to suffer for my sins."

"Don't be so damn dramatic." He replied with a lighthearted tone, "It makes this life so much worse if you're so negative. One day at a time." Deysa stood up as the train started to slow down. He stretched his legs out, telling Kuza, "They try to make their stops in cities like Eris as quick as possible. Like, they'll close the doors a second after openin' them, so be ready."

Kuza leaned down and gently kissed Chris awake. At least one of them got a little sleep. He was more than thankful for that much. As he looked out the window at a city torn to shit, he could only sigh. Yeah, one day at a time. That's really the only positive thought he could bring into this.